


wake up dickhead and give me a ring!

by squishy (Snowingiron)



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I can either write dark twisted shit or tooth-rotting fluff there's no in-between, Light Angst, M/M, Marriage Proposal, the shit Liam is willing to do for Louis is gonna kill me one day and then they'll be sorry I swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-02 02:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16296515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snowingiron/pseuds/squishy
Summary: in which Liam thinks "give me a ring" means an actual ring and it's not like he hasn't thought about it! So maybe it's time to go through with his plan. Louis is ready, so Liam is just going to give him what he wants, right? RIGHT?(that tweet is old already but apparently I wrote half of that fic while sleep-walking and then found it again and thought I'd finish it)





	wake up dickhead and give me a ring!

**Author's Note:**

> A massive thank you to Shelby for always putting up with me and my obsessions and reading stuff through for me! I always ask her to check for typos but really it's more that I'm worried about getting the english language wrong pfffh.

_wake up dickhead and give me a ring!_

Liam keeps staring at the tweet with his bottom lip stuck between his teeth. He bites down hard enough for it to sting when he finally feels able to stop. He falls back into the cushions of his sofa, phone dropping onto his chest. 

It’s not like he hasn’t thought about it. It’s not like he didn’t make _plans_. There is a fucking ring sitting at the bottom of his drawer, covered by thousands of ugly and worn out socks that Louis refuses to touch. It’s a simple silver band, engraved with the words _I love you the same from a million miles away_ on the outside and _as I do right next to you_ on the inside. There’s always a distance, always too little time but maybe it makes the future so much more precious. A future Liam wants to spend with Louis wide awake instead of being confined by different time zones.

("Like one of us is a fucking vampire, Liam! When you’re awake I’m sleeping and when I’m awake you’re working!")

The reason why Liam hasn’t done anything about it yet is that he’s not sure if a ring on the finger will change anything. They both have to work, they both have a career they want to explore to its fullest. More than often they feel like each other’s dirty little secret and that was kind of hot in the beginning, the sneaking around. But they’re far more. Always have been, always will be. So maybe it’s not the feeling that changes, they’d just give it a new name, making it better, official. 

That is not so bad, is it?

Liam sighs deeply and reaches back for his phone to book a flight to L.A. as soon as possible. After shooting off a quick text to his manager he finally digs through the sea of socks until he has the little box with the ring inside. It has turned a little dull over time and he rubs his thumb over it to make it a bit more shiny again. It should sparkle, just like Louis always does. Has he really been waiting for this? They have never talked about it but surely it has always been at the back of both of their minds.

When Liam is finally on the plane, and has tons of hours to overthink what he’s about to do, he starts to panic a little. He still has no idea how to actually propose, how to make it special, how to surprise Louis fucking Tomlinson. Liam never even managed to beat Louis in a water fight. He always gets his way. People tend to think of Louis’ mischievous side as compensation for a lack of talent and self-esteem, which is bullshit. Louis has plenty of talents, they just might not align with some people’s standards and Louis knows exactly who those people are. He knows how to not give a shit about them. Louis’ shortcomings are basically non-existent because he surrounds himself with people who recognise his strengths instead. He is a survivor.

Liam has always admired that about Louis, even when he hated him. Maybe he even hated him because of that. He had an attitude that Liam only dreamed to be brave enough to have. Liam had been scared of bullies, of being bullied again, and it took him a while to realise that Louis just loved to tease.

After The X-Factor, when everything was blowing up, there was a quiet moment in that madness when Louis and Liam had looked at each other and suddenly just… understood. Where the other was coming from and that they would be part of the same band from now on, even if they went separate ways one day. They would always remember. And Louis _could_ be serious. He stood up for the band. He stood up for _Liam_. Who repaid the unexpected kindness by joining Louis in his pranks. He had been delighted, smiling so hard it must’ve hurt.

Liam can’t remember how everything changed. How it grew. Can’t remember when the feeling of wanting to kiss Louis started to act up. Perhaps it has always been there, even when they were at each other’s throats.

So how do you propose to the boy that made you feel every possible feeling that there is in the world? From the worst to be best? How did he even win Louis’ heart in the first place? With time. Over time. Everything lead to this, didn’t it? Louis was right, Liam should’ve woken up sooner. There’s not really a way to fuck this up, he’s just giving Louis what he wants after all.

So he cancels the proposal on stage, the one on the yacht, the one with Niall and Harry dancing around them in fruit shaped costumes, and even the one during a family gathering. They both care a lot about their families.

It takes two more days for Liam to arrive and recover from his jet lag. Even though he doesn’t have a real plan he still has a _plan_ here and that plan is to let himself into Louis’ house and just sit down next to him on his couch and ask him about his day, tell him that he loves him and then just hand over the ring like a bowl of popcorn to share.

What he finds though is his boyfriend being fucking asleep at 1 pm! Liam just stands there in the bedroom with the ring in his hand, watching Louis snore into the pillow, oblivious to everything that is about to happen.

Liam takes a deep breath. He changes his plan, because despite what anyone might think he can be incredibly spontaneous, so he fills a bucket with water and unceremoniously empties it on Louis’ head.

Louis doesn’t make a sound besides a muffled "HmPFHG" which is his version of "bloody hell", Liam can tell. He wipes the water from his face and sits up, which makes the blanket slide down his bare torso and, _oh god, bad idea_. His wet fringe sticks to his forehead and his eyes scream bloody murder.

" _Liam_."

"I can explain--"

"Did you just take a 12 hours flight to start a fight?" He grabs the water bottle from his bedside table and Liam is _fucked_. "It’s on, Payno."

Liam drops the bucket in a weak attempt to play innocent and then has an armful of Doncaster menace in his arms that tries to pour water down the back of his shirt. He knows this, he knows this by heart and that very heart fucking jumps because even if Louis didn’t love him, if they were just friends, this would be enough.

They laugh and scream, they’re a tangle of limbs and once again Louis makes him go through all the motions. It hurts where Louis’ knee digs into his thigh but he couldn’t be happier which almost makes him _cry_. His trousers are soaked in water and he already lost one of his shoes because Louis has a plan too and that is to get them both equally naked it seems (the boxershorts on Louis’ hips hang deliciously low). Louis tries to go for Liam’s shirt next and moves to empty the bottle on top of him when Liam grabs his wrists and they lock eyes.

The grin on Louis’ face makes him weak in the knees. "I win."

"Why do you always think you win?" Liam gasps and pushes against Louis’ hands.

"’Cause I always get what I want in the end."

"Which is?"

"You and me, wet and out of breath."

Liam can’t help but laugh and Louis uses the moment of distraction to push both of their hands aside so he can lean down and kiss Liam. He kisses back eagerly and you just know it’s love when you don’t care about how gross your boyfriend tastes in the morning. Just another thing on his list of things that he wants to have for the rest of his life. Liam grabs at Louis’ neck to keep their lips locked and a moment later the rest of the water pours into his hair, Louis’ teeth digging into Liam’s bottom lip as he grins into their kiss. Louis rubs the water into his scalp and for a moment it’s like Louis wins again.

"So what made you come home?" Louis asks and that’s another thing that he does, they both do actually. They always call each other their home. He can’t remember who started it, he can’t remember a lot of things, but he knows exactly where he’ll end up in life.

"Marry me."

Louis doesn’t say anything, just looks. Stares. Blinks. "Wha?"

"Marry me. I got--" He looks at his hand, his empty hand. "Shit, where did I put the ring?"

"The _ring_?"

"Why do you look so surprised? I saw your tweet, you wanted a ring!"

Louis licks a water drop from the corner of his mouth. He seems confused. He’s not supposed to be confused.

"A ring… Liam, I… a _ring_. I wanted you to _call_ me so I could ask you about seeing your parents next christmas!"

"But..." Liam chokes on his own spit and feels like the biggest idiot. No, he feels like he saw his crush waving at him before he realises that they were waving at somebody behind him. He feels like he just overshared during a radio interview or someone tried to make him spell licorice in public. " _Oh god_."

Louis is still straddling Liam’s thighs and suddenly bursts into a laugh. It makes Liam feel even more embarrassed, he’s pretty sure he’s red like a tomato and when he tries to shove Louis off so he can hide in a cave for the next ten years, Louis just leans in for another kiss.

"You’re terrible at pranks." Then he gets up and throws a towel at Liam’s face, babbling about going to the bathroom.

Liam is still too embarrassed to react or say anything so he just quietly peels out of his wet clothes and steals some dry underwear from Louis’ before he climbs into the familiar bed. Maybe he can hide here instead? He can’t believe he misunderstood that tweet. It’s so obvious now but Liam has been thinking about this for so long that his mind went straight to marriage. The boys can never know about this. Niall would laugh at him for the next fifty years and Harry would pity him, which is even worse.

With a sigh Liam pulls the blanket over his head and internally laments about his stupidity for another few minutes before he hears footsteps and then a high pitched, worried voice.

"Liam, what is that?"

He pushes the blanket past his chin so he can see what Louis is holding in his hand. Oh, _that’s_ where he left it.

"It’s a ring."

"Why is there a ring in my bathroom, Liam?"

Liam scowls. "I just told you that I--" He interrupts himself when he realises that _Louis_ just realised that he actually meant that proposal. He gingerly sits up in Louis bed, offering him a nervous smile.

"Not a prank?" Louis asks.

"Not a prank."

"The engraving..."

He remembers the words, they both do. They cut deep enough to remind Louis of what he’s lost but not enough to make him forget that Liam is right here, ready to fill in any gaps and holes that might torture Louis now and in the future.

"Come here," Liam says softly when he sees Louis’ face.

"No," Louis answers. Terrified. Shaking.

Liam doesn’t push him with words, he just lifts the blanket wordlessly, patiently. Eventually Louis caves and climbs back into bed with him. It’s warm, always so warm. The ring is clasped tightly between Louis’ thumb and the second knuckle of his forefinger, like he’s not sure what to do with it. So Liam picks it up for him, smiling softly as he holds it between them.

"Marry me?"

He doesn’t get an answer because Louis is too busy staring. Liam knows exactly what Louis is thinking: He is scared because everyone is leaving in the end and he hates it, doesn’t understand it. He is angry about the way he’s still shaking, hates being controlled by that irrational fear, thinks he should be grown up enough to be over it. But there are some things in life you just can’t grow out of, things that will always be terrifying. That ring isn’t Liam’s promise to always be there when those things happen because he’ll do that anyway, without being married, without being boyfriends. That ring is a _reminder_ that Liam _has_ been there though. That the worst thing has already happened to Louis and Liam is still here.

Louis knows that, so Liam doesn’t have to say any of it out loud. They just hold a silent conversation, something they’ve mastered over the years. It feels like forever when Louis finally lifts his now-less-shaky hand and lets Liam slide the ring over his finger.

"Guess I win this time, huh?" He teases.

Louis sniffs and blinks rapidly to hide the wet sheen in his eyes. "Didn’t know you’re a dirty fighter, Liam Payne."

"Learned from the best, didn’t I?" He cards his hands through Louis’ still damp and messy hair to draw him closer.

"No, that’s a whole new level of dirty," Louis mutters and evades the kiss to climb into Liam’s lap. "But I’ll have my revenge."

"Oh?" Liam gets his hands on the stubble of Louis’ cheeks, another attempt to pull him in.

But Louis’ grabs his wrists to stop him and the ring shines so brightly on his finger that Liam already wants to cry and tweet a gazillion pictures.

"Yeah, that includes a wicked wedding and adopting cute babies."

Liam’s breath hitches. "You know you don’t have to make it big for me, right? I mean - I’m up for it - but it doesn’t matter how and where, it only matters who I’m marrying."

"Oh, shut up. You already have me, always did. It’s all about the fun stuff now and spending a shit ton of money on wedding planners to keep them employed. Think I can talk the queen into letting us marry at Westminster Abbey? You could wear a fancy tiara."

"Lou," Liam laughs and finally manages to press a kiss to Louis’ lips. "We’re not even religious."

"But think of the _scandal_."

"This was a bad idea, wasn’t it?"

"Too late to change your mind."

"I would never."

"Good. ‘Cause if you abandon me in front of the altar I’m gonna find you and I’m gonna murder you."

"Is that a threat?"

"A promise."

Liam is half-hard in his underwear ( _Louis’_ underwear) with Louis kissing him and rubbing against him in-between their talking and then they just stop talking and make out like the teenagers they were when they met each other. It feels so long ago.

They talk about sending out a tweet without talking to their management first and they argue about the length and detail of it for over an hour before Louis just snaps a picture of his hand and then throws himself to the other end of the bed to type something out without Liam meddling in it.

*

_Not the ring I was talking about but thanks anyway @LiamPayne_

**Author's Note:**

> Thank youuuu for reading and yes I know the engraving is probably too long to fit on the ring but you're never gonna see it anyway so what's the pointtttttt.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated and if you want you can say hi to me on tumblr ~> <http://squishyharold.tumblr.com/>


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